How holidays can make you ill

It was the prospect that kept you going through all those stressful days at work - some long-awaited and muchdeserved time off.

Then, would you believe it? As soon as you try to relax you start feeling ill.

Headaches, nausea, exhaustion, a bunged-up nose, sore throat or even a fever all conspire to ruin your free time and leave you cursing your misfortune.

According to scientists, however, bad luck often has nothing to do with it. They have identified a condition called Leisure Sickness which strikes, they say, at the hardest workers in most need of a break.

'Likely candidates are people who are consumed with work, who have demanding and high-stress positions, and who have trouble making the transition between a work and non-work environment,' said Professor Ad Vingerhoets, of Tilburg University in Holland.

He and his team of psychologists interviewed 1,128 men and 765 women from across the country.

Those who reported symptoms of Leisure Sickness often said they had suffered it for more than ten years and added that it tended to begin at around the age of 26. They blamed it on problems adjusting from the stress of the workplace to a life of relaxation.

In the case of holidays taken away from home, however, the hassles of preparing to travel were a major cause of illness.

Victims seem to spend a lot of time thinking about their job and working in general, leading researchers to believe they cannot deal adequately with free time, either through guilt or busy schedules.

Professor Vingerhoets believes Leisure Sickness typically strikes those who have an inability to relinquish control and relax. 'We have the impression it has to do with psychological make-up - especially people who are perfectionists.'

He suggested that anyone exhibiting signs of Leisure Sickness should re-evaluate their priorities and try to lighten the pressure they place on themselves.

'The best way, I think, to get rid of it is simply have another look at your work and try to pay more attention to other aspects of life.

'You may need to change your perception of life and what is important in life.' The findings, published in the journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, struck a chord with Cary Cooper, one of the leading authorities on stress.

'These results are not surprising,' said the professor of organisational psychology and health at the University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology.

'We see this all the time among our students, particularly after taking exams. It is not leisure that is making people ill but the fact that people are exhausted so when they relax their immune system collapses.

'We are living such frenetic lives, particularly in the UK, which has the longest working hours in Europe.

'As soon as we get some time to relax all the symptoms of stress and being run-down are brought to the foreground.'